The Bigger Picture

Today's post goes along with the one from yesterday.  Goal setting and visualization are just part of the puzzle; you have to have a reason for moving forward.  Ultimately, we need to find a dream -- a passion -- that thing for which we each were uniquely and wonderfully made.

Do you have an Eldorado,

A shining city of gold

That dances on the horizon,

That draws you on so bold?

Why do you rise in the morning?

What makes you take a chance?

What pulls you over the obstacles

Without a second glance?

Is there a dream that fills your mind

And keeps you on your feet

When you look around at others

Slumped in their defeat?

If not, then you must find one

And shape it all your own

Until it fills your waking thoughts

And soaks into your bone.

We're made to strive for better,

To overcome our fears;

We're made to pour into it

Our blood and sweat and tears.

Find your Eldorado,

A passion for your soul,

It will provide the reason

To reach your every goal.

Emotions, Visualization and Sales

A long time ago I figured out that deadlines are great motivators to accomplishing a task.  When we have a specific time by which to have something complete, we are likely to be finished by that time.

I also figured out a long time ago that I have difficulty setting specific goals and then sticking to them.

Think about those two things for a minute; if someone else establishes a goal for me -- a task to complete within a specific time -- I almost always am able to get it done, but I have a hard time if I am the one setting the task and time of completion.  What does that say about me?  It's not a lack of self-discipline, it's either a lack of self-motivation or, it is a lack of inability to determine what needs to be done and how long it should take for completion.

Even though I have difficulty setting goals and sticking to them, I have learned to do it.  That doesn't necessarily mean that I like to do it, but I do like the results.  It's all about the results and a willingness to pay the price to achieve those results.

We all fight inner demons when it comes to accomplishing the things we want in life.  We find ourselves doing "busy work" that creates the appearance of working toward our goals when in reality, it is just something to make us "look" busy -- to give us a sense that we are doing something, even if it is likely it is the wrong things.  Overcoming those things which hold us back is a matter of growth and maturity.  There are some things we may never outgrow, but if we identify the things that hold us back, we can at least begin the process of changing those behaviors and mind-barriers that restrict us.

For me, visualizing the result is probably the most effective motivation.  Visualization is more than just a mental picture -- it includes the feelings of satisfaction and enjoyment that come along with completion.  As much as I would like to say that cold, hard logic is the answer, it is not; we are emotional creatures and depend on emotion for motivation -- even if that emotion isn't necessarily a proper one, such as greed, or envy.

If you struggle with goals, change the nature of how you set them.  Many years ago when I was training sales people I taught them that if they focus on making a sale to a new customer they will quickly become disappointed.  Instead, make it about the number of calls you make on that prospective customer.  If, on the average, it takes 9 calls on a new prospect in order to make the first sale to them, focus on accomplishing those 9 calls.  Make a list of reasons to go see them -- to have contact.  After that first contact in which no sale was made you still accomplished your goal and could feel good about it.  The attitude switched from "they weren't interested" to "that's one!"  Usually, long before that 9th contact, a sale was made.  Not only did their focus change, but their attitude changed in a way that was palpable to the prospect.  Their positive attitude at accomplishing their goals came through rather than the negative attitude which comes with an expected failure.

Those emotions are critical to our well-being.  If you find yourself struggling, think about what emotions are coursing through you and then find ways to overcome the negative ones.  Failure feeds failure and success feeds success -- not because of the completion of the task, but because of what it does for us emotionally.

Dreams of Youth

I saw there in the distance,

Taking shape before my eye,

A tower of water vapor

Reaching upward to the sky.

The promise that it offered

Caused my heart within me leap

In joy for cooling moisture

That across the Plains did creep.

The swelling, spreading blossom

Seemed slowly drawing nigh

Yet in the heat it fizzled;

It was all an awful lie.

There within me sank

The beating organ in my chest

As I saw the withered grasses

Stretching far into the west.

I knew that it was normal,

Part of life's great ebb and flow;

I couldn't help but ponder

Why it sent my feelings low.

Deep within my being

Tiny sparks came into sight

Of dreams that had been shattered

Yet, still there was a light

Shining brightly in the distance,

Growing clearer in my head,

Of good times now remembered

In this life that I have led.

The things that once I cherished

Were now no longer sought;

Replaced by higher treasures

Which love and tears had bought

And I saw the fleeting vanity

Of each and every goal,

Knowing time, with healing answers,

Would bring peace within my soul.

Rising there before me

Were the things I'd held in vain

Dissolving in the droplets

Of gently falling rain.

Vision Requires a Compass

When there are no tracks to show the way

How do you find the trail?

Do you just set out and hope for the best

Or, is that the way to fail?

First you decide where you wish to go

Then keep your compass true

On the path you would take across uncharted seas

To places bold and new.

(Photo taken off Portland Head on the Coast of Maine a few years back.)

Purposeful Pursuit

Each and every day
We must set aside some time
To learn.

It must be deliberate
And purposefully lead toward some destination
We have set.

Without a plan
We merely drift along with whatever current
Pushes us.

Set your eye
On a worthy destination and remain focused
On the prize

While building
On knowledge gleaned by others and recorded
By them.

Read with purpose
In order to fill the gaps in your own toolkit
As needed.

Reach high.
Dream big.
Achieve greatness.

Only the Few

One can easily be lulled
By the sameness of each day
Into lethargy.

The challenge is to break
The numbing, unchanging,
With imagination.

To soar on dreams that define
A pathway from the valley,
So desirable;

To execute the steps that lead
Inevitably toward the prize
Is commendable.

Few are meant to stand
On accolades so dear
In adoration

As the toil of dreary sameness
Is replaced by the fire
Of passion.

Make a Difference

Success comes sneaking in the door
With little acts each day
That take you toward your every goal
With steps that never stray.

It's making sure the things you do
Lead toward your lifelong dream
No matter how the headwinds
Make it feel you're losing steam.

If what you seek is worthy
You will overcome all strife
And you'll truly make a difference
In another person's life.

Keep your focus on each goal
That you have set for every day
As you travel on this journey
Of the Straight and Narrow Way.

The List Goes On and On

I have probably mentioned somewhere previously that I am a list maker.  I find that lists help me organize and prioritize the tasks that I have and as I grow older, I find that it helps me not to forget things....

I don't know that I have ever completed a list before adding more to it.  There is always more to do than gets done.  That's probably a good thing.  I have also found as I age that having things to do, something to work toward, is important.  When there is nothing left but to sit and watch television I will probably die.

I am sometimes a procrastinator.  Lists help me to procrastinate because I know which items are urgent, which are important and which are merely things that would be a good idea but are neither urgent or important.  They are sometimes things that would add to quality of life if done, but just aren't necessary.

I have different types of lists.  Some are work related.  Some are "around the house" tasks -- aka "Honey Do's."  Others are related to some specific project.

I usually rank the tasks in order of importance, but not always.  Sometimes they are just a list of things as I think of them.  I don't always do the things on the list in order of importance either.  Sometimes the lists are so overwhelming that I pick some of the easier tasks, or those of shorter duration and do them first in order to gain the psychological impact of accomplishment.  Yeah, I play mind games with myself.  Is that weird?

I have added Blog Post as a daily task on my list.  Why?  I guess it is a matter of practice since I wish to spend more time writing.  I make a little money on the side writing a column for a trade publication and therefore know my ability is saleable, so I plan to work toward writing more for publication as a supplement to my income as I begin to consider retirement.

Retirement???!!  What am I thinking!  I think that word should be removed from the dictionary and replaced with something that has a different connotation -- one that denotes moving on to other things after a "career."  Just my thoughts this morning...

Thinking Toward Progress

To sit and think
Is sometimes a luxury.
We hurry and rush
From one task to another
Without thinking about
What we are doing or why.

But I've found through the years
That a moment of silence
Reflecting on tasks I must do
Helps me to order
My work for the day
So my efforts will multiply.

It allows me to focus
On what is important
Rather than merely reacting
To whatever crisis
Rears its ugly head
As I go through the course of a day.

So instead of being pulled
Hither and yon
Jumping to the whims of others
I stay on the tasks
That are aimed at my goals
And progress along the way.

Choices

Alone with my thoughts
I think of the day
And the choices made
Along the way.

Some I know
Were the right ones to make
While other results
Some time will take.

So many choices
Result in mistake
But I can't let the past
Cause me to hesitate.

I just keep on choosing
As at the moment seems right
While keeping my goals
Plainly in sight.

Success can be measured
By results good and bad
That come from the making
Of choices we had.

Do, Doing, Done!

When there is more to do
Of the things you must do
Than you can possibly get done,
How do you do
All the things you must do
In order to ever get done?

It seems there are seasons
For the tasks of this world
That come and go as the spring.
There will be weeks on end
Where the pressure is low
And you don't get wound up about anything.

Then along comes a stretch
Where it all hits the fan
And it seems there's no end in sight;
Everything will pile up
And you can't get it all done
Though you try with all of your might.

So, what do you do
When there is more to do
Than you can possibly get done?
Do you just do what you can
And hope for the best
And leave the rest undone?